Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue Team saves 10,000th animal

A shaggy-haired, 6-month-old terrier mix named Willow became the 10,000th animal rescued by the Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue Team on Saturday.

The dog and four others were flown from a shelter in Morgan County, Ky., on the team’s airplane.

The plane landed at Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin to the cheers of some 100 PAART volunteers. A rescue truck carrying another 16 dogs from shelters in three Kentucky communities arrived about the same time the plane landed.

Willow had been scheduled to arrive 10 days earlier, but could not travel after being attacked by a coyote and suffering significant blood loss. Her wounds have healed, and she is now in the care of a foster home waiting for a permanent home.

There have already been a number of inquiries about Willow, said Mary Kennedy Withrow, PAART’s executive director.

“She is a very popular dog in Pittsburgh right now,” Kennedy Withrow said. “There are plenty of people who would like to adopt her. She’s very sweet, very calm. She was taking it all in and getting lots of pictures taken. She’s a sweet little girl.”

PAART is a nonprofit organization that provides free air and ground transportation for at-risk dogs, cats, guinea pigs, chickens, sea turtles, rats and butterflies. It rescued its first dog in 2006.